New van, new adventures! A giant learning experience for us again, as not just with Freya and how she and we travel, but also what this van has and what it needs.
With no real plan and a destination of “south”, we are off again. I feel the pressure as nights are still 2 degrees in Germany, gotta get south fast. So our first day we make it to Violau, wow. we need a place for Freya to play.
And then another short hop to a medieval tourist trap that was closed. playground indeed, but not for babies.
With our first night spent. Got so cold I had to abandon upstairs and we somehow slept as three down below. Many many learning experiences from that night.
Ok so next day. Gotta make it south and fly through Austria cause those mountains are extra cold. A lovely stop at a bayrische Wirtschaft (ran by jugos, same same). Great place for kids. everyone is friendly and loves a baby crawling around the floor, throwing Bierdeckels, and making noise. As an adult, not ok. As a baby, encouraged.
In Holzkirchen we tried the outdoor playground. Not just too cold, but the grass was more cigarettes, glass and trash than grass. This unfortunately is everywhere which is insanely depressing. After some rich kid vandalism on our brand new van, it worked out perfect our next stop was in “anger” Germany. A stop in the woods with zero reception is always a lovely refresher.
So up until not we are averaging light walk distances, and I want to get through Austria. First shift went great with an advertised indoor playground at a rest stop. these thing are priceless. Regardless of weather and size, a place for a child to tire itself out and be occupied.
The indoor playground is key, even when for older kids, to help keep yours occupied so you can have a cup of coffee. So after this we have a plan which we cancel and then pay for, lucky to find another indoor playground at a mall, which I do not recommend for parking a 6 meter van.
The fantastic thing about this one, is that 2 floors above was one of those huge places that you have to pay for. We just need some padded walls for free and we are good.
After a very upset baby lunch (we were those people in the restaurant that was not a bayrische Wirtschaft) a final run and made it to Slovenia.
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